Cheat Sheet

QuarkXPress 5 For Dummies

QuarkXPress 5 is a powerful desktop publishing program that allows users to make very simple, one-color documents, or moderately challenging documents, which can include photos, illustrations, and complex charts. No matter what kind of QuarkXPress user you are, you'll find shortcuts helpful for executing basic tasks and learn how to set up a document in QuarkXPress. You can also explore some Quark-related websites to help you along the way.

QuarkXPress 5 Shortcuts for Basic Tasks

QuarkXPress 5 has tons and tons of shortcuts. You probably won't memorize most of them, but you'll no doubt find yourself using one or two all the time. Here are some helpful shortcut keys for view, palette, and object-selection tasks.

QuarkXPress Viewing Shortcuts

Action

Mac

Windows

100%

Command+1

Ctrl+1

Fit in windows

Command+0

Ctrl+0

200%

Option+Command+click

Ctrl+Alt+click

Thumbnails

Shift+F6

Shift+F6

Change view percentage

Control+V

Ctrl+Alt+V

Force redraw

Option+Command+period

Shift+Esc

Halt redraw

Command+period

Esc

Go to page

Command+J

Ctrl+J

Zoom in

Command+click

Ctrl+spacebar+click

Zoom out

Option+Command+click

Ctrl+Alt+spacebar+click

Windows submenu

Shift+click title bar

Alt+W (tile, stack)

Show/hide invisibles

Command+I

Ctrl+I

Show/hide rulers

Command+R

Ctrl+R

Show/hide guides

F7

F7

Show/hide baseline grid

Option+F7

Ctrl+F7

Snap to guides

Shift+F7

Shift+F7

QuarkXPress Palettes Shortcuts

Action

Mac

Windows

Show/hide Measurements

F9

F9

Show/hide Tools palette

F8

F8

Show/hide Document Layout palette

F10

F4

Show/hide StyleSheets palette

F11

F11

Show/hide Colors palette

F12

F12

Show/hide Trap Information palette

Option+F12

Ctrl+F12

Show/hide Lists palette

Option+F11

Ctrl+F11

Show/hide Index palette

Option+Command+I

Ctrl+Alt+I

Show font use

F13

not available

Show picture use

Option+F13

not available

QuarkXPress Shortcuts for Object Selection

Action

Mac

Windows

Select all

Command+A

Ctrl+A

Select item behind

Option+Shift+Command+click

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+click another item

Multiple selection (series)

Shift+click

Shift+click

Multiple selection (noncontiguous)

Command+click

Ctrl+click

How to Set Up a Document in QuarkXPress 5

When you're ready to print a QuarkXPress 5 document, first make sure that the Document Setup dialog box is set up the way you want. The Document Setup dialog box is where you set the size of your printed page. To display the Document Setup dialog box, choose File→Document Setup (or press Option+Shift+Command+P [for Mac] or Ctrl+Alt+Shift+P [for Windows]).

Some of the options that you can set in the Setup pane include the following:

Paper Size, Paper Width, and Paper Height: For the Paper Size option, choose the size of the paper that will be used in the printer. The size of the paper that you use doesn't always correspond to the trim size of your final document. If you select a printer that can print on nonstandard pages (such as an imagesetter), the Paper Width and Paper Height options become active so that you can specify the size of the paper.

Reduce or Enlarge: You can scale a page before you print it by entering a value between 25% and 400%. Printing at reduced scale is useful if your document's page size is large and you can get by with a reduced version of the document for proofing purposes.

Page Positioning: This pop-up menu lets you align the page within the paper on which it is printed. Your choices are Left Edge (the default), Center (centers both horizontally and vertically), Center Horizontal, and Center Vertical.

Fit in Print Area: This option calculates the percentage of reduction or enlargement necessary to ensure that the document page fits fully within the paper size. Generally, this option is used to reduce the size of a document page. Almost every printer has a gap along at least one edge where the printer grasps the paper (usually with rollers) to move it through the printing assembly. The printer can't print in this gap, so a document that is as large as the paper size usually gets cut off along one or more edges of the paper. Checking this option reduces the size of your page, ensuring that nothing is cut off.

Orientation: Click the icon that looks like a portrait to get portrait, or vertical, orientation of the document (taller than wide). The horizontal icon produces pages with a landscape, or horizontal, orientation (wider than tall).

Helpful QuarkXPress Websites

QuarkXPress users have access to an abundance of QuarkXPress-related information and freebies. The next time you're online, check out some of these QuarkXPress and desktop-publishing sites.

XTensions sites

Hundreds of commercial XTensions for QuarkXPress are available for both Mac and Windows; these XTensions handle a wide range of tasks that QuarkXPress cannot. Plenty of information about XTensions is available online, including these XTensions vendors: CoDesCo and The PowerXChange. Not only do these sites let you purchase XTensions online, but they offer downloadable demos, too. Several other retail sites for XTensions offer similar serivces, and most XTensions developers have websites of their own. To find information about other retailers or a particular XTensions developer, use your favorite search engine to perform a search for them.

Quark homepage

In addition to providing information about the entire Quark product line — QuarkXPress, Quark DesignPad, Quark Publishing Platform, and more — Quark offers demo versions of products; technical notes and access to technical support via e-mail; program updaters; and free Quark-developed XTensions, including updated versions of word-processing filters.

Quark forums

Exchange ideas and discuss solutions with other QuarkXPress users on the Quark forums. You can meet community experts, and you'll also find employees of Quark Software, Inc., participating in discussions.